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Hunter
:For related articles, see Category:Hunters. The Hunter class is a damage dealer, but mainly at range. Hunters have pets that add to their DPS and help manage aggro. Hunters track, tame and train animals and beasts found in the wild. Hunters consider their weapons and pets to be their only true friends. Background The hunter is a stalker in the wilds, living on his knowledge of survival and skill with a bow or rifle. He is deeply in tune with nature, and some of its mightiest beasts are his allies. Of Azeroth's many creatures, few can resist the hunter's call, and fewer can survive his fury. Hunters are as varied as the world's many climates, but they are universally renowned for their amazing abilities to find their prey and bring it down. They come from any race, though certain races naturally excel at the hunter's profession. Most hunters seek to aid the balance of nature along with their druidic allies. Elven rangers are not alone in their mastery of the wilderness. While an elven ranger prefers the bow, the hunter would rather get up close. A hunter is skilled in stealth, slipping through the woods like a ghost. thumb|right||A dwarven hunter takes aim The hunter is one of the oldest classes in history. They represent a deep connection between man and beast, and the hunters of Warcraft are not merely individuals who track animals and slay them for food, but custodians of balance. They understand the natural circle of life and death, and the part they must play in maintaining it not simply as researchers, but as active participants. The Hunt is venerated, and the prey they choose to stalk is given as much respect as the predators hunters choose to learn from and embody. All hunters create lifelong friendships with animal companions, who are also often their best and only friends, if the stereotype of the reclusive huntsman is to be believed. Hunters come in all shapes, forms, sizes and specialties, but in the World of Warcraft, all hunters specialize to be marksmen. Hunters are a curious mix of mysticism and rough wilderness know-how. They can learn to mystically align themselves with the aspects of various animals to assist them: the spryness of a Monkey, the sharp eyes of a Hawk, the swiftness of a Cheetah and gift themselves with a higher resistance against the dangers of the most important thing of all in the rites of a hunter -- the very Wilds he and his prey live in. Hunters also derive a system of hand-to-hand combat inspired by the attacks and counterattacks of various animals, and use magically empowered traps to maim and snare their prey. They have various shots imbued with magic or explosives to snare, poison, handicap and disorient their targets. They can even hold their breath and slow their heartbeat to a highly infrequent, inconsequential tap to give their pursuers the impression that they are dead. So hunters choose to become melee hunters and wandering hunters. The hunter is the choice of life for those who reject societies that oppress our roles in the natural role as prey and hunter, and also reject the druidic stance that we should be healers and observers rather than active participants in the Great Hunt. Theirs is a life of reverence for nature as well as the willingness to use man-made tools. We are tool-using creatures after all, and it is only natural to use that advantage afforded by nature to be better hunters, though there are also many hunters who prefer a more direct approach to tracking and hunting. Famous hunters include all High Elven Rangers like Alleria Windrunner and her two sisters Vereesa and Sylvanas, but also the Night Elven such as Shandris Feathermoon. Rexxar the Mok'Nathal Beastmaster is also a legendary hunter. Some mythical examples are the unnamed tauren who cornered Malorne the White Stag. Overview *Hunters tame wild beasts of Azeroth and Outland, training them to fight at their side. Hunters, along with Warlocks (Summonable Demonic Minions), Mages (Summon Water Elemental talent), Druids (Force of Nature Balance talent), Shamans (elemental summoning totems) and Priests (Shadowfiend spell) make up the six classes that can have combat pets. Hunters, however, are the only ones that can name and feed their pets; Warlock pets are automatically given names when they are initially summoned and their damage is unaffected by "happiness". *Hunters excel in outdoor survival skills, such as tracking and laying traps. *Hunters wear leather and cloth armor until level 39. At level 40, they gain access to equipping Mail armor. Most Hunters start with an axe or dagger and a gun, crossbow or bow. With training, they can learn all other weapon skills except wands, maces, and two-handed maces. They are unable to use shields or plate armor. *Hunters have many magical abilities that require mana, such as pet healing and special shots, but their mana pools are not as large as those of dedicated spellcasters. *Hunters can take on various Animal Aspects that grant special abilities, such as increased dodge, improved run speed, or even additional nature resistance. Races The Hunter class can be played by the following races: Alliance * Night elves * Dwarves * Draenei Horde * Orcs * Tauren * Trolls * Blood elves These are some relevant racial traits to hunters: * Draenei - Heroic Presence affects pets. Their Gift of the Naaru ability also gives hunters a heal over time. * Dwarf - Gun Specialization increases gun skill by 5. Also has Stoneform to counter various types of debuffs, such as Crippling Poison. * Night elf - Shadowmeld enables the Hunter to take advantage of unsuspecting enemies in PvP as well as mobs in PvE. * Orc - Command increases pet damage by 5%. Also has the powerful Blood Fury ability. * Troll - Bow Specialization increases bow skill by 5. Also has Berserking. * Tauren - Endurance increases the total health of the Hunter by 5%. This stacks with the Endurance Training talent in the Beast Mastery talent tree and the Survivalist talent in the Survival talent tree. Also has Warstomp to help escape from their deadzone (melee range). Other racial attributes can also be useful, but may not be specifically relevant to hunters as a class. As always, research into all the racial traits of each race will make a player's decision better informed. Talents and abilities Hunters have a vast range of talents and abilities. These can be roughly categorized into the following: Ranged fighting thumb|left|An orc hunter in Dragonstalker armor, wielding the [[High Warlord's Street Sweeper]]Ranged fighting requires a choice between a gun, bow, or a crossbow. When starting, this will depend on your race. Dwarves and Tauren are given guns, Draenei start with crossbows, and the other races get bows. Later on, you can train to use the ranged weapons that aren't inherent to your race. In general, crossbows are relatively slow, but hit harder and are favored for increasing burst damage, while guns are relatively fast and good for steady grinding at the cost of using more ammunition than other weapons. Bows have moderate attack speed and are favored for sustained DPS. Initially, weapon speed will be inconsequential since the only available abilities consist of Auto-Shot and various instant casts. Guns can be crafted by engineers, but there are no craftable bows or crossbows, so most ranged upgrades will come from mob drops and quest rewards. Guns use bullets while bows and crossbows use arrows. Different types of ammunition add different amounts of DPS; generally, the higher level you are, the higher DPS ammunition you can access. At level 70, several different qualities of ammo are available and you may often find yourself using different types of ammo for different situations. For example, relatively expensive are better suited to difficult instances and raids, while cheaper are more economic for everyday grinding and PvP. Standard white quality bullets and arrows of varying DPS are available at most innkeepers and almost all general goods vendors, as well as special city vendors. There is also special ammunition that can be crafted by engineers or bought as reputation rewards; these projectiles are typically expensive and not very economical for everyday use. can be made by engineers and are the best bullets short of the from the Scale of the Sands quartermaster. The Halaa ammunition vendor sells 34 DPS arrows; these are no longer unique to 200, but they are bind on pickup and can only be purchased if your faction (Alliance or Horde) controls Halaa. Warden's Arrows are the best arrows until the from the Scale of the Sands (there is no arrow equivalent to ); the only downside is they require reputation with the Cenarion Expedition; they are sold at the Cenarion Refuge in Zangarmarsh. For further information see the Hunter Tactics page. Stings Hunters have stings, which are specialized debuffs they can apply to targets to help them address specific situations. Only one sting per Hunter can be active on any one target. * Scorpid Sting - Reduces chance to hit with melee and ranged attacks by 5% for 20 seconds. * Serpent Sting - Causes Nature damage over 15 seconds. * Viper Sting - Drains mana over 8 seconds. * Wyvern Sting - Puts the target to sleep for 12 seconds. Any damage will cancel the effect. When the target wakes up, the Sting causes Nature damage over 12 seconds. (Requires the tier 7 Survival talent Wyvern Sting.) Shots Hunters also make heavy use of special shots to supplement their DPS and provide utility to their groups. * Distracting Shot - A non-damaging shot that only causes threat, good for aggroing a crowd-controlled target without breaking the effect. * Multi-Shot - A shot that also damages the nearest two targets within 8 yards of the primary target, thus hitting a maximum of three targets at once. This shot can be chained around corners to hit targets that are out of line of sight. It also serves as a way of breaking multiple mobs off of your pet or other players. Generally not recommended in encounters where crowd control is essential to group survival. * Tranquilizing Shot - Dispels Frenzy effects used by certain mobs. Aeonus, for example. * Arcane Shot - A shot that inflicts arcane damage, bypassing armor and physical damage shields (like Blessing of Protection). It also bypasses magic reflects, making it the most consistent damaging attack. * Aimed Shot - A high damage opener gained through talents that is useful for pulling, especially in conjunction with Misdirection, which places the hunter's threat on a specific ally. * Scatter Shot - A shot that inflicts 50% weapon damage and instantly incapacitates the target for 4 seconds. It is the only ranged attack aside from Volley that can be used in the Hunter's dead zone, but is limited to 15 yards. * Steady Shot - A 1.5-second cast time shot which does extra damage to a dazed target. The casting time on this shot is also affected by attack speed bonus effects like Rapid Fire and Bloodlust. * Silencing Shot - A shot that inflicts 50% weapon damage silences the target for 3 seconds. This shot doesn't have a magic school lockdown effect and is obtained through the Marksmanship talent tree. * Misdirection - Not technically a shot, but will direct the threat of your next three shots onto whomever you cast it on. Melee fighting While Hunters are primarily a ranged class, they do possess some melee abilities. They are no where near as powerful as the abilities of a true melee class such as a Rogue or Warrior, but they are still useful in situations where the target is too close to be hit with ranged attacks. The general goal in using these moves is to continue inflicting damage while attempting to open distance, hence these abilities have limited uses, cooldowns, or are some kind of movement impairment effect. * Counterattack - An instant strike that becomes active after parrying an opponent's attack. This attack deals damage and immobilizes the target for 5 seconds. Counterattack cannot be blocked, dodged, or parried. (Requires the tier 5 Survival talent Counterattack.) * Mongoose Bite - Instantly strikes the enemy for damage. Can only be performed after you dodge. * Raptor Strike - A strong attack that increases melee damage. It attacks on next melee swing. * Wing Clip - Instantly inflicts damage and reduces the enemy target's movement speed for 10 seconds. Combat pets Pets are the most important tools in the hands of a hunter. They serve as aggro-management, additional DPS, and tanking. Many beast-type mobs can be tamed, and each offer a set of unique active skills (there are special abilities just for wolves, just for cats, etc). In addition, certain pet types are tanking oriented (such as bears), and others are DPS oriented (such as cats and owls). Combined with the diversity of armor, stamina and resistance buffs, pets are allowed a great deal of customization. Many hunters have dedicated pets for specific instances, PvP, tanking, and so on. Hunters can tame pets at level 10 by completing a short series of quests. They are able to control the pet through various commands. Although hunters can only have one active pet at a time, the stable can house up to 2 additional pets. See more at Hunter's pets. Traps Hunters have five different types of traps available for use. Some traps are a type of Crowd Control; others are a source of damage. All traps have a 30 second cooldown and a 2 second arming time. Traps will exist for 1 minute, and only one trap can be active at a time. However, if a trap is set off, another trap can be used while the effect of the first is active. * Explosive Trap - Explodes when an enemy approaches, causing Fire damage and additional Fire damage over 20 seconds to all within 10 yards. * Freezing Trap - Freezes the first enemy that approaches, preventing all action. * Frost Trap - Creates an ice slick around itself for 30 seconds when the first enemy approaches it. All enemies within 10 yards will be slowed by 60% while in the area of effect. * Immolation Trap - Burns the first enemy to approach for Fire damage over 15 seconds. * Snake Trap - Releases several venomous snakes to attack the first enemy to approach. The snakes will die after 15 seconds. The Snakes can inflict 1 of 3 poisons. (Warning: these can aggro nearby mobs.) Aspects Hunters have seven aspects at their disposal. Only one aspect may be active at a time. Aspects will only affect the Hunter, unless stated otherwise. * Aspect of the Beast - Makes the hunter become untrackable on the minimap, except if Beast tracking is on. * Aspect of the Cheetah - Increases movement speed by 30% (+8% with the Pathfinding BM talent). * Aspect of the Hawk - Increases ranged attack power by X. * Aspect of the Monkey - Increases chance to dodge by 8% (+6% with the Improved Aspect of the Monkey BM talent). * Aspect of the Pack - Increases the movement speed of the hunter and party members by 30% (+8% with Pathfinding BM talent). * Aspect of the Viper - Regenerates mana equal to 25% of hunter's Intellect every 5 sec. * Aspect of the Wild - Increases Nature resistance of the hunter and party members. Tracking Hunters can track eight different types of units. Only one tracking ability may be active at a time, which includes the tracking for mining veins and herbs. * Track Beasts * Track Demons * Track Dragonkin * Track Elementals * Track Giants * Track Hidden * Track Humanoids * Track Undead Hunter talents Talents are a way to specialize your character by enhancing your skills and/or learning new skills. Starting at level 10, you will receive a talent point every time you gain a level. There are three categories for Hunter Talents: *Beast Mastery *Marksmanship *Survival For further information see Hunter Talents, Hunter Talent Discussion. Talent calculators can be found at Official Blizzard Talent Calculator. and WoW Den's Talent Calculator Gear Armor Hunters can use Cloth Armor and Leather Armor initially. At level 40 they can train to use Mail Armor. Hunter armor sets The Hunter's Armor sets are as follows: * Beaststalker Armor (Dungeon Set 1) * Beastmaster Armor (Dungeon Set 2) * Giantstalker Armor (Tier 1) * Dragonstalker Armor (Tier 2) * Striker's Garb (Temple of Ahn'Qiraj, requires Brood of Nozdormu reputation, and the specific quest armaments) (Tier 2.5) * Cryptstalker Armor (Tier 3) * Beast Lord Armor (Dungeon Set 3 - Pet-Bonus Set) * Desolation Battlegear (Dungeon Set 3 - DPS Set) * Demon Stalker Armor (Tier 4) * Rift Stalker Armor (Tier 5) * Gronnstalker's Armor (Tier 6) The below are not of the following tier sets: * Predator's Armor (Zul'Gurub, requires Zandalar Tribe reputation) * Trappings of the Unseen Path (Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj, requires Cenarion Circle reputation) Weapons Hunters are capable of learning how to use bows, guns, crossbows, thrown weapons, daggers, axes, fist weapons, swords, polearms, staves, two-handed axes, and two-handed swords. The only weapons they cannot use are wands and one-handed and two-handed maces. Upon reaching level 20, Hunters can learn the Dual Wield skill. This allows them to wield two one-handed weapons at the same time. See Hunter weapon for an explanation of the value of the various stat bonuses and a list of melee weapons suitable for hunters. Starting stats Attribute conversions Please note that although 14RAP gives a damage bonus equivalent to 1 DPS, the actual damage bonus per attack depends on weapon speed. This is before things like haste effects (quiver/ammo pouch, Rapid Fire, etc). In the case of Multi-Shot and Aimed Shot, the Attack Power contribution is normalized. Also note that although 14 Agility = 14 AP which causes a 1 DPS increase, agility will also provide extra critical strike bonus which must be considered. Roughly one can say that for DPS, [[Formulas:Item Values|'1 agility' ≈ 2 attack power ≈ 1 crit rating]]. Burning Crusade changes New pets and abilities The expansion offers several new pets and abilities. Beta information can be found at http://petopia.brashendeavors.net/. Traps Traps can now be set during combat. This opens a whole new role to hunters as crowd control, as hunters can now chain trap a mob without having to rely on Feign Death to exit combat. Notices Always keep an eye on your bullets or arrows; you don't want to run out of ammo in the middle of a fight. Never be afraid to bring extra ammunition if needed in your normal bag slots. In combat, hunters have the ability to quickly remove all threat they have generated on a target via Feign Death. In the majority of boss fights, you won't be out of combat for more or less than 1 to 3 seconds. Pets in instances should be controlled carefully and watched closely; one wrong click can very well get you and the party or even raid killed. You should set your pet on passive mode as well as disabling autocast for Growl and any other AoE abilities to be secure. The "OMG HUNTER LOOT" / That's a Hunter weapon! : jokes exists for a reason. Don't forget you share your gear class with many other classes, both before and beyond level 40. It's very unlikely you're the only person who needs any given drop. Do not be surprised if other classes also compete with you for ranged weapons. End-game expectations With longer range, pets, and Feign Death abilities, Hunters are often counted on to be the primary puller in end-game raids such as Molten Core and Blackwing Lair, where you will be expected to know how and when to pull. These pulls require finesse, and are usually more than simply shooting something to gain aggro and bringing it back to the tank; many Hunters are expected to understand the mechanics of hate management and how to allow for the tank to garner more hate from a taunt. At level 70, a Hunter can learn Misdirection, an ability that 'plants' hate from their other abilities onto a target of their choice (likely to be the tank); a smart hunter should be able to make the most use of this. A Hunter's pet will be expected to be trained in the appropriate resistances for any given encounter, such as Fire Resistance for Molten Core for example. In addition, a Beast Mastery-skilled Hunter will be expected to know how and when (and when not to) use their pet against every mob the raid will encounter. For this reason, expect to select and bring a pet that benefits the raid in some way (for example, a wolf-type pet for Furious Howl to increase party melee damage or ranged damage, a Wind Serpent that can attack from ranged distance beside the hunter, or even a pet designed for taking damage for off-tanking). A Hunter's primary responsibility in nearly all raid encounters is to provide a high amount of DPS over a sustained period of time. To do this in a raid setting, you will need to know when to use Feign Death in order erase the amount of aggro you have dealt to the creature before you gain more aggro than the raid's primary tank, and then resume the state of high DPS. You will also need a large mana pool and know how to effectively and efficiently use your abilities without running out of mana too quickly. Mana regen from items such as the Black Grasp of the Destroyer and abilities such as Aspect of the Viper can help you accomplish this fine balance of mana management and high DPS. In some cases you will be asked to Kite one or more creatures that either cannot or should not be killed during a specific encounter, allowing the rest of the raid to focus on other needs in order defeat the objective. Kiting is a skill that is best accomplished by Hunters because of their Aspect of the Cheetah, pets, and armor rating (Mages are quite skilled at snare/root kiting, but few instances require such a technique and is intense in its use of mana) and requires a lot of practice. While kiting, you will need to shoot your target with instant abilities, and often use speed boosts (such as the movement speed enchantment for foot gear, speed potions, and/or using Aspect of the Cheetah). Kiting, for most hunters, is the hardest skill to learn, yet is considered by many to be the most important skill. PvP Hunters wishing to participate in end-game PvP will find any of the talent trees help them towards their goals of massive player destruction! In Beast Mastery, a PvP-Hunter will find the skills of Intimidation, Bestial Wrath (to include The Beast Within), and a deadly pet worthy of causing constant havoc (especially to casters); a 'BM' Hunter would be considered ill-equipped in PvP without them. The Marksman tree skills of Improved Concussive Shot, Mortal Shots, Barrage, Improved Barrage, Concussive Barrage are all excellent in a PvP setting, with the skills of Lethal Shots, Scatter Shot and Silencing Shot being considered "must haves" within the tree. These talents in the tree enables the Hunter to inflict immense Burst damage. Finally, the Survival Hunter has many tricks that allow them to escape the deadzone as well as dish out the pain, with such skill as Humanoid Slaying, Savage Strikes, Deterrence & Counterattack, and Master Tactician, followed by the "can't do without" skills of Hawk Eye, Improved Wing Clip, Entrapment, Survivalist, Killer Instinct, Wyvern Sting and Readiness topping the charts. Some of these skills are considered universal abilities that should be in any PvP-Hunter talent build, no matter which tree you put the majority of your points into. These include Hawk Eye, which allows you to do damage from farther away, as well as Entrapment, which used with Frost Trap, can turn the tide of an entire battle if used strategically, and Lethal Shots, which provides a sizable increase to your critical hit rate for only 5 points into Marksman. Hunters excel at taking out soft targets like Warlocks, Priests, and Mages from a distance, and should do so before moving on to hard targets such as Warriors and Paladins, though if a Rogue is observed it is the Hunter who is best equipped to track and expose the Rogue. See also See Hunter Talent Discussion for information on common Hunter Talent Builds. See Hunter resist guide for advice on choosing and getting resistance gear. See Hunter weapons for a list of usable one and two handed melee hunter weapons to improve your ranged damage * Useful macros/Hunter See Hunter races for discussion of hunters by race. A wide selection of good information can be read online at the official WoW forums. External links *WoW Hunter Guide- A free, growing hunter guide written by a real hunter covering everything,including videos and forums. *Hunter Talent Guide (Levels 1-30, all specs) *Good Intentions pet abilities table *Petopia *TKA Something *WoW Hunter Pets *Hunter Burning Crusade PVP Clips - Beast Mastery Spec *A forum for help and strategy, by Hunters for Hunters *Big Red Kitty - weekly hunter feature at WoW Insider *Hunter FTW! - Wiki for Hunters only - Instance Strategy, Gear, Guides, Talent Advice, Pet Gallery/Listing/Abilities, Theorycraft, Videos, Advanced Lessons (Kiting, Jumpshots, etc) Category:Classes Category:Hunters Category:Hunter Abilities Category:WoW Classes Category:RPG Classes